Workers pass through the gate at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. in Mobile.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (Addsco 3-416)

Military campaign in the Central Pacific. After securing the Marshall Islands in early 1944, American military planners decided that the next step would be to bypass the Japanese-held Caroline Islands (including the stronghold of Truk) in order to seize the Mariana Islands. Located equidistant from the Marshalls and the Japanese . . .

A cautious Marine, armed with a scaling rope, advances toward Mount Tapochau on Saipan. June 1944.

Source: National Archives (127-GW-1313-85006)

Infantrymen grab sleep where they can. Normandy, France, July 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-191444)

Bill Mauldin worked for Stars and Stripes during the war. His cartoons were viewed by GIs serving in Europe.

Source: Copyright 1945 by Bill Mauldin. Displayed courtesy of the William Mauldin Estate.

The penultimate test of U.S. Marine Corps amphibious doctrine and practice. By the end of 1944, American forces had secured from Japan control of the Mariana Islands to provide air bases for B-29 strategic bombers that could strike Japan. En route to Japan, these bombers flew over Iwo Jima (Sulphur . . .

Marines Pete Arias and Bill Lansford land on Iwo Jima.

Aboard a transport vessel, a Marine assault force prepares for the invasion of Iwo Jima. They are most likely wearing “flash cream,” used to protect the face and hands from burns caused by the "flash" of nearby explosion. February 19, 1945.

Source: National Archives (127-GW-316-111236)

A Marine receives medical attention for wounds caused by a mortar burst on Iwo Jima. February 20, 1945.

Source: National Archives (127-GW-331-110154)

Two enormous vessels docked at a Mobile pier. Men move cargo in the foreground.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (Addsco 49-A)

Two servicemen cross a street in downtown Mobile.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (MN-159B)

A pre-war view of a busy street in downtown Mobile.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (N3075)

Rear view of the interior of an empty Mobile city bus. "WHITE" sign hangs from the ceiling.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (CO-10020)

Bustling Mobile ship channel.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (C-9089)

Black shipyard worker at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. in Mobile guides a giant propellor. Clyde Odom worked as a foreman at the segregated docks.

Source: The University of South Alabama Archives (G-25)

Mobile's Ray Pittman, right, in Washington, D.C. Pittman joined the Marines and was placed in charge of a demolition team, fighting in Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

Source: Ray Pittman

Alvy Ray Pittman, the son of a veteran of World War I, was born December 5, 1922 near Columbia, Mississippi. After finishing high school Pittman moved to Mobile to work with his father in the carpentry business. In November of 1942, Pittman enlisted in the Marines. . .

Important battle in the Pacific Theater. Saipan, part of the Mariana Islands chain that includes Guam and Tinian, had become Japanese territory in 1920 as a consequence of World War I and was considered a part of Japan itself. Following the successful U.S. invasions in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, . . .

An SBD Dive Bomber from the USS Lexington participates in the invasion of Saipan, June 15, 1944.

Source: National Archives (080-G-236936)

Marines move across the beach at Saipan during mop-up operations. Two have been struck by Japanese sniper fire.

Source: National Archives (26-G-2649)